


(can't seem to) get you out of my mind

by stupidwolves



Category: Bleach
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Ace!Grimmjow, Asexual Character, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Violence, Soul Bond, ace!ichigo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-05-22 23:13:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6097126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupidwolves/pseuds/stupidwolves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Just give me a couple weeks and,” he winces, stretching an arm as both of them reach a wall to rest on, “and we’ll have our fight, okay?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	(can't seem to) get you out of my mind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ser_Renity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ser_Renity/gifts).



> i'm still ????? about how long this is but i hope u enjoy??

Walking around the wasteland the Soul Palace had turned into by the end of the war would be much easier if neither of them were badly injured and only standing thanks to each other’s support. Grimmjow grunts as he moves his left arm to better accommodate Ichigo’s weight. A faint orange glow draws his attention to the right, where he sees Orihime healing a few of the surviving shinigamis while two others help her.

 

Nelliel is back in her child form, being carried around by Chad while they look for anyone else who’s alive with the help of the captains who are in a decent condition. Grimmjow can’t see the others, but once he searches around for their reiatsu he can tell they’re well – as well as one can be after fighting in a war, that is.

 

Ichigo coughs, catching his attention.

 

“Just give me a couple weeks and,” he winces, stretching an arm as both of them reach a wall to rest on, “and we’ll have our fight, okay?”

 

Grimmjow snaps his head to Ichigo’s side, “The fuck are you talking about.”

 

“Well,” he starts, carefully leaning down the wall to sit, “I promised to fight you whenever you wanted, right? And last time we were interrupted for an obvious reason, but now we have time.”

 

Grimmjow snorts, shakes his head and look away, trying to hide his grin. He rests his elbows on his knees, watching for a few seconds as Rukia stagger towards Orihime.

 

“Alright then,” he turns back, a ferocious smile plastered on his face as he speaks. “But you better heal properly, dipshit, ‘cause I don’t like easy wins.”

 

“Right back at you, ass,” Ichigo laughs, then groans in pain, clutching to his sides in hopes to ease the pain. Grimmjow’s head meets the wall with a soft thud, and he closes his eyes.

 

Ichigo brushes his shoulder against the Arrancar’s, and both stay in silent company, simply observing as others deal with their own wounds from the aftermath of the war.

 

* * *

 

Later, with a weary smile and tired eyes, Orihime offers to heal them. Ichigo politely declines, and when Grimmjow puts his hands on his knees to get up, he pulls the man down by his wrist.

 

Grimmjow glares.

 

Ichigo stares, one eyebrow up, and Grimmjow huffs and shakes his free hand at Orihime’s direction, dismissing her. She laughs, hands covering her mouth, then leaves, walking towards Rukia. The shinigami holds Orihime by the waist and they start to walk, step by agonizingly slow step, towards Renji.

 

“Fuck,” Grimmjow frowns, pulling his arm away from the other. “I wasn’t gonna make her heal _everything_ , Kurosaki.”

 

“Do it later,” Ichigo chastises. “She’s just as tired as we are. Probably worse than us, actually, considering all the work she’s done.”

 

Arms crossed, Grimmjow rolls his eyes, “Yeah, whatever.”

 

“What,” the shinigami substitute snickers. “Can’t handle the pain?”

 

“Oh, fuck off,” Grimmjow scoffs, turns his head to Ichigo’s direction with a frown. “I _can_ take it, okay? It’s just that the sooner I heal, the sooner I can fight again.”

 

“I didn’t know you cared that much, Grimmjow,” Ichigo puts a hand on his chest and lets out a fake appreciative sigh from his lips. “I’m touched.”

 

“Well, I guess between you and no fight, beating you up will have to do.”

 

“And when did _that_ ever happen?”

 

If Grimmjow shoves his elbow right on Ichigo’s ribs, there’s no one around to prove it.

 

* * *

 

(They don’t see each other until months later, when both are completely healed and Soul Society’s need of the shinigami substitute help isn’t urgent.

 

Which means Ichigo doesn’t know about how Grimmjow paces around in the remains of his quarters in Las Noches, flexing his fingers to calm down the jitters; how, when the excitement gets too much, he stalks around the vast nothing that is Hueco Mundo to hunt down what’s left of the Hollows.

 

When Nelliel finds Grimmjow, she delivers a message from Ichigo – to come to Urahara’s store as soon as he was ready to fight.

 

Ichigo doesn’t see the predatory-like – childish, almost – grin Grimmjow can’t keep off his face as he opens up a Garganta to Karakura Town.

 

Nel does, though.

 

“It’s great that you made a friend, Grimmjow,” she ignores the snarl that comes from the other Arrancar, opting to smile sweetly at him instead. “But do remember to play nice, alright? Killing friends is a big no-no.”

 

“Fuck off,” he pretends not to hear her laugh, and steps into the Garganta.)

 

* * *

 

“Kurosaki-san, you can wait on the basement if you want,” Ichigo’s not looking, but he knows there’s a sly grin behind that damn fan Urahara insists on carrying around. “Unless you’re too excited to see him again, that is.”

 

“Oh, yes,” Ichigo snorts into his cup of tea. “I’m shaking and everything.”

 

It wasn’t _entirely_ sarcasm, actually. Not that he’d ever admit that to old hat ‘n’ clogs, of course.

 

“My, my, Kurosaki, there’s no reason to be like that,” Urahara tuts and then shrugs lazily, keeping track of the teen’s movements by the corner of his eyes. “I just thought you might want to warm up before he gets here”

 

Ichigo takes a sip of his tea. He puts the cup back on the table, considering the man’s words. He shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant. It had been a while since he had a good fight, and as much as he didn’t want to acknowledge it, Grimmjow was the only one who could deliver it.

 

“Sure,” he gets up, pats the back of his pants until he finds his badge. Once his body is in a safe place, he heads downstairs, already stretching his limbs.

 

Waiting on the basement, of course, means he misses Grimmjow and Urahara’s little exchange – mainly consisting of not so subtle teasing from the old man and the Arrancar’s effort not to punch him. That also means when Grimmjow finally meets him, Ichigo’s greeted with Grimmjow’s claws almost sinking on his shoulder. He’s fast enough to avoid the attack; draws his sword as he steps back. It’s enough time for Grimmjow to do the same.

 

A couple second passes as both stare at each other, battle-ready stance, moving clockwise. A grin breaks on their faces.

 

They move at the same time, swords clashing as they strike without hesitation.

 

It’s the most beautiful sound he’s heard for some time now.

 

* * *

 

(Urahara watches them from afar, face contemplative as the two trade blows.  Neither is paying attention to him, yet he hides his sly smirk hidden by the fan anyway; Grimmjow kicks Ichigo’s chest, using the boy as leverage to get higher up until his feet meet one of the rocks.

 

Grimmjow taunts him, Ichigo curses, they jump at the same time and their swords touch for a second before both retreat to a safe distance.

 

Even though he’s not close to them, Urahara can see the excited grin on their faces. He lifts an eyebrow, fanning himself as the fight goes on.)

 

* * *

 

“Well, that was a good stretch,” Grimmjow rotates his shoulders, hopping back and forth as Ichigo retreats one of his swords from a rock behind the Arrancar. “Ready for the real fight now?”

 

“About time,” Ichigo grunts, ready to attack as Grimmjow turns and leaps at his direction.

 

The teenager raised his blades to block Grimmjow’s –

 

“You two sure are lively,” Ichigo yelps and stumbles backwards, causing Grimmjow to hit the ground instead of him. Both turn sharply to look at the intruder. Urahara waves a hand. “Go on, don’t mind me.”

 

“Did you want something or is this your way to be even more annoying than usual?” the Arrancar grunts, a clear scowl on his face. Urahara puts a hand on his chest.

 

“Jaegerjaques-san, you wound me talking like that,” Grimmjow rolls his eyes, already turning his attention to the shinigami substitute. “But since you asked…”

 

He beckons both of them over, Grimmjow almost stomping like a child and Ichigo eyeing Urahara with nothing more than complete suspicion. The man sits and motion for them to do the same, then pulls out two silver bracelets from under his sleeve.

 

With his arms crossed, Grimmjow looks at the objects closely, nose scrunched up, “That’s, uh, that’s really nice, I guess. You done now?”

 

“No,” Urahara tuts. “And if you could be a little more patient…”

 

He stares pointedly at Grimmjow, as if daring him to speak again. Grimmjow huffs, but doesn’t take the bait.

 

“Good. Now, these little beauties here aren’t just for looks,” he swings the bracelets left and right, grinning as the other two follow the movements with their eyes, even if one of them – Grimmjow –  is slightly annoyed. “They also work as a data collector.”

 

Silence.

 

“They collect data on one’s fighting performance.”

 

He waits for either of them to say something, anything – then sighs.

 

“I want you both to use them, and –”

 

Urahara opens his mouth to continue, but Ichigo talks over him, “Why aren’t you wearing one, then?”

 

He scoots a few inches away from the man, his eyes never leaving the bracelets as if they would attach themselves into him out of nowhere.

 

“I’m just a simple shop owner, there’s no need for me to have one,” Urahara’s sly grin earns him two irritated groans. “Besides, you’ll just have to wear them during the sparring sessions.”

 

“Why do you think Grimmjow and I will have _sparring sessions_?” Ichigo sighs as he sees Urahara lift his hat ever so slightly just to show the eyebrow he raised. “Okay, okay. Point.”

 

Grimmjow points to the bracelets with his chin, “Who else has those things?”

 

“I think a better question would be ‘who made those?’ or ‘have they been tested already?’” at Urahara’s complete silence, Ichigo presses the bridge of his nose, trying to fight an incoming headache. “We’re your lab rats, aren’t we?”

 

“That’s such an ugly way to put it, Kurosaki-san!” he waves the fan on the teenager’s direction, keeping his tone light. “Think of it more as you doing a favor for me. Plus, who knows when the next bad guy will show up, right? So we need you to be at your best to defeat them.”

 

Urahara spins the bracelets on his finger, waiting for a response. Thanks to the memories of all the times hat ‘n’ clogs has helped him, Ichigo is the first to cave in; with sagged shoulders, he sighs and raises his hand. Urahara grins, happily placing one on the boy’s hand, and turns to look at Grimmjow expectantly.

 

“I’m not gonna do that,” Ichigo elbows him on the ribs; Grimmjow grunts. “Kurosaki, that’s not going to convince me.”

 

Too amused by the scene, Urahara waits as Ichigo and Grimmjow get into a staring competition. The only sound that can be heard is the grinding of teeth.

 

“Fine, then,” Ichigo shrugs. “Be a baby, don’t wear it. But don’t come with your whining when you lose to me.”

 

A beat.

 

Grimmjow sighs.

 

Urahara looks at him, palm open, displaying the bracelet like it’s a precious stone.

 

“I _said_ , when you lose to me,” Ichigo smirks as he leans over the Arrancar. “ _Again_.”

 

“Oh, fuck it,” he extends his hand, palm up, to Urahara. “Just give me the damn thing.”

 

* * *

 

(Their fight is an exquisite sight – it looks like a well-choreographed dance, with intricate moves that Urahara could swear he sees sparks when their blades clash. Grimmjow grins like a madman, laughing even when he gets struck, and Ichigo smiles with enthusiasm, shouting taunts whenever the Arrancar misses.

 

They seem to enjoy themselves, even with all the destruction they’re managing to cause to the training basement, much to Urahara’s misfortune – but on the good side, he was going to have the data he wanted.

 

It’s only when Ichigo activates his Bankai that Grimmjow takes on his Resurrección form. The old shinigami can sense the electrifying feeling around them as they continue their dance with grace and eagerness towards each other, waiting for the perfect moment, that _one_ opening, to give the final blow.

 

It’s absolutely _mesmerizing_.)

 

* * *

 

“Alright, boys,” Urahara clasps his hands while Ichigo brings his body closer to the men. “That was a great training, got some interesting data to analyze, but now I need those bracelets back.”

 

Both feel a small jolt when they take it off. Grimmjow looks at the object, frowning.

 

“Huh,” he shrugs and tosses the bracelet to the blond man. “Well, time for me to go.”

 

* * *

 

There’s an empty feeling on Ichigo’s stomach when Grimmjow walks through the Garganta, satisfied with the fight and ready to go back to Hueco Mundo ( _you better be ready for the next time, Kurosaki; don’t disappoint me_ ). He frowns, scratches his arm absent-mindedly as he watches the portal close up, and when the feeling gets stronger he looks down, confused.

 

It gets worse when the Garganta closes completely; it goes from a small nuisance to a mild discomfort, and a few seconds later he’s doubling over, kneeling on the ground and clutching his sides. Urahara drops next to him, carefully holding his shoulders.

 

“Ichigo?” he’s frowning as he tries to check on the teenager as much as he can without causing more pain to the boy. “Can you stand up?”

 

He shakes his head and grinds his teeth, a feeble attempt to lessen the pain. Urahara curses, head snapping up to look around him.

 

“Tessai-san!”

 

* * *

 

At the ruins of what once was the Las Noches palace, Grimmjow collapses as he comes out of the Garganta, groaning in pain as Nelliel rushes to his side. He tries to push her aside, but with the feeling like venom was coursing through his veins, the Arrancar can’t do much else besides curl into a ball.

 

Nel turns Grimmjow to his side, her eyes frantically going all over his shivering body, looking for a wound or any kind of source for his condition. Grimmjow’s eyes are screwed shut so tight he can see stars at the back of his eyelids; his lips are bleeding from biting them with excessive strength.

 

“Grimmjow? Grimmjow, what’s wrong?” she has to pin him down with how much his body is shaking; eyes wide and nails digging on the man’s skin, Nelliel continues. “Say something or I can’t help you.”

 

“S-shit, Nelliel,” he grunts out, head lolling to the right, and bites his inner cheeks in attempt to block another spasm. “It fucking _hurts_.”

 

“Where?” Grimmjow shakes his head; Nelliel sighs, exasperated. “Listen, I need you to tell me _where_.”

 

“Everywhere, okay?” he barks out, his face a few inches away from hers. “It fucking hurts everywhere, like I’ve been poisoned. Fuck. ”

 

Sweat’s starting to run down Grimmjow’s neck, and he can barely feel the sand between his fingers. There’s another spasm and he curses; the half-moon marks from Nelliel’s nails are dripping blood and she mutters out an apology.

 

“There’s nothing here to help you,” she curses, looking away from him for a second. “I’m taking you back to the living world. You were at Urahara’s, right?”

 

Grimmjow nods, slowly and reluctant. Nelliel takes one arm off him, ready to open up a Garganta.

 

They step in before Grimmjow can say anything else.

 

* * *

 

Another scream tears through Urahara’s shop.

 

“How long it will take to stop this?” Jinta asks as he and Ururu step in the room.

 

“I don’t know yet,” there’s a line of sweat trickling down the side of Tessai’s face as he attempts to end Ichigo’s pain.

 

Urahara is sitting not too far away from the teenager, hand on his chin and a somber look on his face; he’s been silent since Tessai brought Ichigo to the room, twitching and breathing heavily as the taller man carried him inside.

 

Ichigo shifts from one side to another, grunting. He opens and closes his palms repeatedly as if the feeling of being slowly cut open would fade.

 

It’s only the sound of someone pounding the front door that takes Urahara from his quiet stupor, and he promptly gets up.

 

Nelliel doesn’t wait for him to open up the door completely, elbowing her way inside. With her there’s a pale-looking Grimmjow, who can barely stand by himself and snarls when Urahara tries to help. The Arrancars can’t see it, but his face darkens for a fraction of a second. Before Nel can say anything, they’re rushed to the same room Ichigo’s in.

 

The closer they get, the easier it is for Grimmjow to walk. He frowns, but the other two don’t notice anything, minds occupied with the situation at hand. By the time they get to the door, he can even breathe without feeling like he’s getting stabbed in the lungs. When he enters, the soul-crushing pain he felt is dulled by a minor annoyance, like an itch he can’t wait to scratch.

 

Blue eyes immediately zero in on the figure lying on the floor. Ichigo’s just as pale as Grimmjow, and he can see trembling hands trying to support its own body as he sits up, frowning at the wall.

 

“Grimmjow? Nel? What are you guys doing here?” he coughs and smiles at Tessai when the man puts a hand on his back to steady him. He’s still feeling a slight ache on his body, but it’s a thousand times more bearable now.

 

“Ichigo!” Nelliel walks up to him, lips quivering. “You’re shaking, just like Grimmjow was. Are you okay?”

 

“I’m alright,” he lets out an ‘ _oof_ ’ when Nelliel almost strangles him with a hug; his head snaps up to Grimmjow. “What about you? What happened?”

 

“Don’t really know,” Grimmjow shrugs. “But now it’s gone so I’ll see you people another time.”

 

“What? Grimmjow, you just can’t –” before Nel can finish her sentence, Grimmjow walks out of the room, takes five, maybe six steps and almost doubles over. In her arms, Ichigo shuts his eyes and cringes, a feeble attempt to hide the pain; she immediately steps back.

 

“Maybe it would be better if you came back here, Jaegerjaques-san?” Urahara smiles but it looks strained and his mind is already fuming with theories.

 

Grimmjow mutters what could be a curse, probably _is_ a curse, and drags his feet until he’s back and crosses his arms, staring at Urahara with a raised head, like a petulant child. Urahara puts his fan away.

 

“Could you… step outside again, please?” he asks, shooing Grimmjow with his right hand, not really looking at him as much as looking at his general vicinity.

 

“What am I, a dog?” Grimmjow snarls, making himself more comfortable against the wall. Nelliel frowns.

 

“Grimmjow,” she calls and he turns his head oh-so-slightly towards her. “Stop being difficult, just – just cooperate, please.”

 

Grimmjow huffs, rolls his eyes, but does push himself off the wall and walks out of the room. Urahara tracks his footsteps and, just like he assumed, Grimmjow can’t get too far before both he and Ichigo start crying in pain.

 

“Okay, okay, you can sit now, thank you,” Urahara says as he takes Grimmjow’s shoulders and guides him to Nelliel’s side.

 

There’s a deafening, heavy silence inside the room, a moment where everyone is processing the events and no one knows what to say.

 

Eventually, Ichigo lifts his head up, his usual frown replaced by a look of confusion and slight fear.

 

“What the _hell_ is going on?”

 

* * *

 

(Urahara doesn’t have an answer. Tessai doesn’t either. Nelliel doesn’t say a word, only holds Ichigo’s hand on hers, sliding her thumb back and forth, and she squeezes Grimmjow’s arm with the other.

 

No one has a clear understanding of the situation and it scares both of them; the rumbling on Ichigo’s stomach and the tick of Grimmjow’s fingers weren’t the only things betraying their blank faces.

 

When Urahara sends them away he promises to look for a solution, and before either of them can open their mouths to protest he’s already contacting Yoruichi.

 

Nelliel follows them until they arrive at Ichigo’s home. She kisses them on the cheek and hops on a Garganta back to Hueco Mundo. Standing at the front door, they stare at each other.

 

One thing is sure – neither knows what the fuck to do.)

 

* * *

 

“Wait,” Ichigo says, taking Grimmjow’s hand away from the doorknob.

 

“What?” he grunts and slaps Ichigo’s hand away and crosses his arms.

 

“I don’t know about you,” Ichigo starts and takes a few steps backwards, throwing his head back. “But I’m not really that eager to explain all this to my dad. So… let’s just go this way, alright?”

 

Grimmjow shrugs and follows him, “That’s fine by me – I’m not the one who will be in trouble when your dad finds out before you tell him anything.”

 

Ichigo comes to a halt.

 

Grimmjow doesn’t wipe the grin off his face even after the teenager shoves him out of the way.

 

* * *

 

Karin opens the door before either of them can reach it, “Well,” she looks Grimmjow up and down, a critical eyebrow raised. “You have to stop making weird friends, big brother.”

 

The Arrancar huffs, feeling affronted, and Ichigo just walks past them into the house, hand in front of his mouth to stifle a laugh. It dies out as soon as Isshin’s feet come close to his head, missing him by a few centimeters and colliding with the wall. Ichigo scowls and waits for his dad to recompose himself.

 

“It’s good to see your senses are still sharp, son,” he grins for a second before his face turns serious and he stares down at Grimmjow. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”

 

“I – Well, dad, the thing is…” Ichigo knows Grimmjow can feel the teen’s eyes on him with how intensely he’s staring, yet the Arrancar does nothing but rest his back on the wall and cross his legs. “Um. I can’t?”

 

“You can’t explain what an Arrancar is doing here,” Isshin deadpans, head falling to the side and eyes never leaving his son’s. Standing by the door, Karin stares at Grimmjow, frowning as she tries to figure out exactly who he is.

 

Grimmjow knows that even after helping the shinigami reclaim their world from the quincy, not everyone was as quick – or naïve – as Kurosaki to trust him or any of the other Hollows. It doesn’t mean he’s gonna cry over it like a baby, though, which is why he doesn’t understand why his heart tightens for a second when Kurosaki’s dad looks at him with distrust.

 

“It’s not that I can’t explain, it’s just,” Ichigo stumbles with his words, can’t think of a way to make their situation sound less bad than it is. “It’s kind of complicated?”

 

Footsteps coming from the stairs throw Isshin off his hard stare, and as Yuzu approached them with a curious look on her face, he gives his son one last glance to make sure Ichigo understands the conversation is far from over.

 

 Ichigo sighs, dejected, and Grimmjow looks at the ceiling, puts an extra amount of effort on ignoring everyone else’s presence.

 

“Welcome home, big brother! I’m just about to make dinner, is there something you want?”

She smiles and is blissfully unaware of the tenseness around the others for a second. When no reply comes, her smile drops. “Is something wrong?”

 

“Um,” he starts, not sure what to say to her. “Nothing wrong here, Yuzu, I brought a friend over, it’s all. Hey, do you want help with the food?”

 

He pushes her by the shoulders, towards the kitchen, without waiting for her answer. She smiles uncertainly, but it brightens when Ichigo takes the pans out without even being prompted to. By the corner of her eye, she sees the vague, translucent shape of a person, so she turns and waves at that direction, smiles and looks through the presence.

 

Behind them, Isshin sighs heavily and sits at the table, Karin following him with a frown that might as well be permanent on her face at this point. Unlike her twin, she’s not feeling very welcoming towards the man standing close to her brother, especially considering his scowl – and more importantly, his Hollow traits.

 

Yuzu fills the silence all by herself, her excitement alone making the atmosphere in the room a little bit lighter. Ichigo chops up the carrots, nods and smiles as he half-listens to Yuzu’s day.

 

Mostly he’s just overly aware of the way his dad is scrutinizing Grimmjow. It makes him nervous, somehow.

 

“Could you set the table?” Yuzu asks, startles him out of his thoughts. She tilts her head, nudges him on the ribs when there’s no immediate response.

 

“Oh, yeah, sure,” he walks around Grimmjow, grabs the plates and Yuzu hums, her attention back to the food.

 

* * *

 

(After dinner, Isshin stops them on the hallway, beckons Ichigo for a private talk. Ichigo winces, but follows him after exchanging a look with Grimmjow – it doesn’t go unnoticed by his dad, and Ichigo is thankful he doesn’t mention it, has yet to find a way to break the news to him without much fuss.

 

They enter his room, and he stays by the door, hoping Grimmjow stands on its other side so the pain is the minimum. Thankfully, the Arrancar has the same idea because he’s only feeling a small discomfort.

 

His dad asks questions he wishes he had the answers to, and he understands his dad’s concern, _he really does_ , but Grimmjow is not like he used to be and Ichigo feels like he can trust him now, considering all they’ve been through on the war.

 

It’s a weird realization to have, but not necessarily bad, and after some back and forth with his dad about Grimmjow’s aid Isshin relents, though he’s still distrusting of the Arrancar – which isn’t really a surprise; he wasn’t the one who fought side by side with Grimmjow, doesn’t know much about him except for the fact he was one of Aizen’s espada in the past and doesn’t eat human food.

 

Before Isshin can get to the door, Ichigo stops him, takes a long breath, and says, “There’s not much I can tell you about what is going on, but here’s what I know –”

 

His father listens, quiet and eerily serious, arms crossed and a few nods here and there. When Ichigo is done, he expects the usual kind of outburst from his dad, cries of worry and a flood of tears; what he gets is a pat to the top of his head instead. There are no reassuring words other than a promise to help, but Ichigo’s glad anyway.

 

Grimmjow is next to the door, leaning by the wall as if he isn’t nervous about their situation at all. Isshin walks out of the room, stops in front of the Arrancar and nods before going to his own bedroom.

 

Somehow he feels a little bit better.)

 

* * *

 

“So,” Ichigo rubs the back of his neck, looking around his bedroom for nothing in particular. Grimmjow waits for the rest of the teenager’s trail of thought.

 

It doesn’t continue.

 

“So…?” he mimics, walks up to the chair as Ichigo plops down on the bed.

 

Ichigo groans, annoyed; he rubs the palm of his hands on his eyes, “I don’t know. Has anything like this ever happened to you?”

 

“I think I would remember feeling physical pain just from being apart from someone,” Grimmjow deadpans and dodges a pillow aimed at his head. “I have no idea what you expected me to say, Kurosaki.”

 

“Me neither, actually,” he’s seeing stars behind his eyelids now, so he figures it’s time take his hands away. He still doesn’t open his eyes, though, and put his arm over them. “I just, _ugh_ , there’s nothing to do about it. I hate waiting.”

 

Grimmjow doesn’t respond, so Ichigo slowly raises his arm and opens one eye to check what the man is doing – which is simply staring blankly at the wall, eyebrows pinched together due to his usual frown.

 

It’s such a weird sight, considering his surroundings.

 

“Uh,” he starts, leans on his elbows and turns to Grimmjow. “I’m sure we still have the bed dad got for Rukia. We should bring it here for you.”

 

Grimmjow snaps out of his haze, looks at Ichigo and shrugs, ready to follow him.

 

“Alright, then,” he pats down on his pants, stretches his arms behind his back. “Lead the way.”

 

* * *

 

They did, in fact, still have the bed from years ago, and that’s a big relief to Ichigo. His single bed wasn’t built for more than one person, the floor was the opposite of comfortable and only Rukia would be fine sleeping in the wardrobe – probably because she’s short enough to fit in there.

 

He wonders what she would think about his and Grimmjow’s situation.

 

“Kurosaki,” Grimmjow calls, his voice alerting Ichigo of his mild annoyance. “Stop being lazy and let’s bring this to your room.”

 

Ichigo rolls his eyes, but does his part anyway. The bed frame is left behind – if Grimmjow _really_ needs it, they could call someone to reassemble it in his bedroom later – and each lifts a side of the mattress.

 

They set it close enough to his bed. Ichigo throws Grimmjow a pillow and turns off the light before settling under his covers. Shutting his eyes forcefully, he wills himself to sleep. Grimmjow, on the other hand, stares at the ceiling, thinking back at everything done earlier, trying to find a solution and inevitably coming up with nothing.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, big brother,” Karin places her bowl on the table before sitting down, examining Grimmjow with a certain curiosity. “Why do we have a Hollow eating breakfast with us?”

 

“I don’t eat that shit,” Grimmjow grunts out, slouches on the chair. Karin turns to her brother, one eyebrow raised. He shrugs.

 

“It’s true. He really doesn’t eat human food.”

 

Karin nods, turns her attention back to the Arrancar, scrutinizing, “And what exactly are you doing here?”

 

“The fuck do you need to know this for,” Grimmjow prompts, his tone hinting at the start of irritation.

 

“Where did your polite friends go? I like them better than this one,” she grins, doesn’t let either of them respond. “This is my house too; I have a right to know why you’re here, Mr. Hollow.”

 

“Is she always this annoying?”

 

“Only when I’m curious,” Karin crosses her arms and grins like she already won their little feud, then looks at her brother.

 

Ichigo sighs, his slumped shoulders admit defeat.

 

“We, um, we kind of,” he starts, waving his hand aimlessly as he looks for words. “Basically, we’re stuck with each other. I _literally_ cannot stand too far away from him and vice-versa. If either of us does that, both of us will feel a lot of pain.”

 

There’s a quiet moment on the table as Karin looks back and forth, incredulous, at both of them. Then she laughs, loud and more amused than Ichigo would’ve liked. Grimmjow rolls his eyes.

 

* * *

 

“So, where are we going?” Grimmjow asks, following Ichigo. When the teen doesn’t answer him, he speaks again. “Kurosaki, where the fuck are we going?”

 

There’s a couple walking towards them, and Ichigo winces when one of them passes their shoulder right through the Arrancar. Grimmjow simply snarls at the person and quickly returns his attention to the teen.

 

“Don’t talk in public, dumbass,” Ichigo hisses, avoids looking at Grimmjow so people around them wouldn’t think he’s crazy. “And we’re going to Inoue’s.”

 

“How’s that gonna help with anything?” he punches Ichigo’s shoulder lightly, just to make his irritation known, but not wanting to actually hurt him.

 

Ichigo rolls his eyes.

 

“Rukia,” he whispers, hunches his shoulders and walks faster even though Grimmjow comes to a halt, baffled.

 

“ _What?_ ”

 

* * *

 

Orihime hugs them both as soon as she opens the door, ushers them inside without even letting Ichigo open his mouth properly. Grimmjow looks at her warily, not used to this kind of behavior towards him from, well, _anyone_ , and sits down next to Ichigo while she grabs them… something that’s _supposed_ to look like a simple, innocent chocolate cake.

 

Grimmjow stares at it with concealed disgust; he’s not so rude to the point he talks shit about Orihime’s cooking skills at her face, uncaring about her feelings, especially when she’s one of the very few people who doesn’t hold a grudge against him or hates him just for being a Hollow.

 

“Kurosaki-kun, Jaegerjaques-san, it’s so nice to see you two!” she smiles, takes a good bite off the cake and looks at them expectantly.

 

“Oh, right,” Ichigo sits upright, one hand scratching the back of his neck. “Is Rukia here?”

 

“She went out for a patrol a few hours ago, so I think she’ll be home soon,” Orihime links her fingers together, hands on her lap. She’s blushing, but doesn’t seem no realize that.

 

“It’s okay if we wait for her here, right?” Ichigo asks, tentatively takes a small piece of his slice and eats.

 

“You two can definitely stay, it’s not a problem,” she nods and her cheerful tone is gone, leaving for a more serious one as she leans in to whisper, brows drawn together in concern. “Is it something serious? Can you tell me about it?”

 

Grimmjow looks away from them, elbow on his thigh and head resting on his hand, and snorts. Ichigo punches him on the side, not strong enough to hurt but it still gets his point across.

 

“Yeah, I think it’s pretty serious, kind of urgent, actually,” Orihime nods, frowning, and Ichigo continues. “We’ll tell you everything when Rukia comes. I don’t want to talk about this more than I need to.”

 

She nods, thankfully ever understanding and Ichigo smiles.

 

It doesn’t take long for Rukia to arrive, and she freezes for a second at Grimmjow’s sight, though she recovers quickly. Grimmjow’s tense back and shoulders, on the other hand, don’t fade away.

 

“Hello, Ichigo, Jaegerjaques,” she smiles at Ichigo and nods at Grimmjow before walking up to a blushing Orihime, giving her a kiss on the cheek and sitting down next to her. “I haven’t seen you for some time now, is everything alright?”

 

Ichigo sighs heavily, rests his elbow on the table and head on his hand, thinking how he could start explaining.

 

“Some fucked up shit happened after we sparred and now I can’t go back to Hueco Mundo without both of us being in physical pain,” or he could just let Grimmjow explain it for him, deadpan as the Arrancar can be.

 

Orihime gasps and Rukia’s eyebrows rise spectacularly high out of shock; Ichigo glares at Grimmjow, though the man doesn’t seem bothered by the reactions he caused. To Rukia’s credit, she manages to compose herself incredibly fast, expression serious as she examines both men.

 

“I think I’ll need a better explanation than that.”

 

* * *

 

(And they explain the best they can, pausing here and there to remember even the most mundane detail just in case it’s actually an important part to figure out how they got into this mess.

 

Orihime’s eyes are shining with sympathy, her hands clasped together on her lap, frowning slightly at the mention of pain. Rukia’s expression never changes from her contemplative mask; one hand under her chin while she listens closely to the events Ichigo and Grimmjow tell her.

 

Her eyebrows twitch at the mention of certain key things – the bracelet, the hurt, the relief when physically together – and even though she doesn’t interrupt Ichigo is sure she’s already thinking of something, theorizing what could’ve possibly be the reason for all this.

 

They finish and the silence that follows remains for a couple minutes, with Orihime twitching to fuss around the boys, to make sure they’re okay, and with Rukia swaying her head lightly, refusing to meet their eyes.

 

When she finally does, what she says is almost enough to make Ichigo cry in relief that someone might know how to revert this, and when she promises to look into it he hugs her tight, twirls her around in euphoria and when he puts her down, Rukia punches him in the shoulder, complains about tall brute men and Ichigo laughs, easy and light.)

 

* * *

 

“I _guess_ that wasn’t a complete waste of time,” Grimmjow mumbles, looking around them and taking in the sight of the small park they’re in – the noise coming from the children near them is mildly annoying. “So what are we doing here?”

 

Ichigo hesitates, then shrugs. “I’m not sure what to do. What do you think? Should we go to Urahara’s and check on his progress?”

 

“Kuchiki said she was going to contact him,” he frowns when a little girl stares in their direction a little too long, looking at _him_ a little too long with eyes wide in amazement. “I’m sure if we go there we’ll just slow his search – bastard would spend too much time making fun of us.”

 

The teen chuckles and for some reason Grimmjow doesn’t find the sound irritable – it’s… _nice_ , he wouldn’t mind hearing it again.

 

“So what, we just do nothing?” Ichigo frowns, places his elbows on his knees and rests his chin on his hands. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

 

“Fuck if I know,” Grimmjow sneers at the girl, though the reaction he gets is the opposite of what he wanted – she giggles, one hand covering her mouth, and her eyes are shining with curiosity. “You know anyone else that could help?”

 

Ichigo shakes his head.

 

“No, not really,” he stops and stares at the Arrancar by the corner of his eyes, assesses his expression. “Unless you’re willing to give Soul Society a quick visit.”

 

“And be killed on sight?” Grimmjow laughs and he sounds too amused by the prospective for Ichigo’s liking. “I’m gonna have to pass this time, Kurosaki.”

 

“ _This time_ ,” Ichigo mumbles and snorts; he finally notices the little girl. Standing up, he stretches and looks back at Grimmjow. “Well, since there’s not much we can do about this problem, we might as well kill some time sparring, right?”

 

It’s the first time Ichigo sees Grimmjow grin and look less predatory and more like a kid _finally_ getting the present they’ve been asking for a long time.

 

* * *

 

“Kurosaki, what the hell are we doing in your house,” Grimmjow asks from Ichigo’s window, leg bouncing from pent-up energy that’s not being let out the way he wants to. “I’m not fighting you here.”

 

Ichigo huffs and rolls his eyes, still searching for his shinigami substitute badge. “We’re not; I just want to leave my body here instead of wherever we are going to spar.”

 

“I’m guessing Urahara is a no go?”

 

“If I’m there the only thing I’ll be able to do is hover over hat ‘n’ clogs until he has a solution,” he answers, voice small, and by Grimmjow’s grunt he can tell it’s a shared sentiment. “I don’t want to stay there and feel useless.”

 

“Well then,” the Arrancar puts his feet on Ichigo’s bed, hands still resting on the windowsill. “You better have a place in mind because I got nothing.”

 

Ichigo finally pulls out the badge and presses it to his chest. With his body comfortably lying on his bed, he turns to Grimmjow and gives him a contemplative look before smirking.

 

“Hey, Grimmjow,” his smirk widen at the other’s frown. “How good is your sense of smell?”

 

* * *

 

“Are you fucking kidding me,” Grimmjow doesn’t even have the energy to get angry, he just settles for deadpan. He grunts when Ichigo lands a heavy hand on his left shoulder before leading the way.

 

“What?” Ichigo calls, the goddamn smile on his face annoyingly persistent on his face. “No one wants to build their house near a junkyard, which is great for us. As far as I know, no one is planning to raise a building here, so there’s no way to harm anyone else.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Grimmjow stretches his limbs, gives a satisfied grunt when his joints pop. “Can we start already?”

 

“Can’t wait to have your ass kicked by me?” Ichigo teases, one hand ready to draw out Zangetsu.

 

“Keep dreaming, Kurosaki,” Grimmjow grins and shifts his stance, waiting for the exact moment to –

 

“Shit, wait a second,” Ichigo pulls up both hands and the Arrancar huffs, crosses his arms in clear impatience. “I wanna know how far we can get from each other before we start.”

 

“That’s not a bad idea,” he takes one large step back, watching the other boy do the same.

 

They stare at each other for a couple seconds before nodding. Another step and everything is fine so far. Ichigo grins and Grimmjow can’t hold his smile back, doesn’t even find in himself to care about that. By the third step things get a little bothersome – not real pain, but enough to annoy him.

 

Fourth step and Ichigo raises one hand again. “Okay, this is how far we can retreat.”

 

“Your plan is to run away from me, Kurosaki?” his voice is too light to be anything but playful teasing.

 

“If that’s what you need to tell yourself, then _sure_ , but I was thinking more about how far away I could throw you,” Ichigo drawls out the last word, and Grimmjow decides that he really likes fighting him, likes their easy banter and likes that for a moment he can forget about the situation they’re in. “Are you ready?”

 

“Heh,” Grimmjow grins and unsheathes his sword, already jumping towards Ichigo, his heart beating in excitement. “Grind, Pantera!”

 

* * *

 

(This time, their fight feels different.

 

It’s not a bad thing, they think, but it’s a strange sensation to instinctively know what will be the other’s move, when they plan to attack or dodge or even when they decide it’s better to get hit because the counterattack will be worth it. It doesn’t happen all the time, but enough to take notice.

 

They feel in synch, more than when they fought side by side in the war, almost like they’re one and the same.

 

Different, yes – but neither thinks it’s such a bad thing after all.)

 

* * *

 

 _Goddamn Kurosaki and his freakish luck_ , Grimmjow lies on the ground, the cuts made by Zangetsu still letting the blood flow, chest rising and falling quickly as he tries to catch his breath. Ichigo may have his breathing in control, but he doesn’t look that much better either, with deep claw marks on several places – the worst looking one, on his stomach, is bleeding.

 

“That wasn’t luck, you ass,” Ichigo turns his head to look at Grimmjow, eyebrows knitted together in offense. “I trained a fucking lot to let _luck_ decide my battles.”

 

“The fuck are you talking about?” he sits up, ignoring the pain on his left side. As far as Grimmjow is concerned, he hasn’t said a fucking thing since they decided to take a break.

 

“Are you really going to pretend you didn’t just say I only won because of my ‘freakish luck’?” Ichigo doesn’t lift his hands to do quotation marks, but Grimmjow can _hear_ it in the teen’s tone anyway.

 

He looks at Ichigo, coughs and tries to sound as little antagonistic as possible.

 

“Kurosaki, I didn’t open my mouth to say anything.”

 

But he did _think_ something like that. Not that Ichigo needs to know that anyway.

 

“Look, if you’re good enough to hear stuff I obviously didn’t say, you’re good enough to fight me,” Grimmjow gets up, patting his pants to get the dust off. “Come on already, ain’t got all day you know.”

 

Ichigo stares at him, squinted eyes scrutinizing him all over. _This isn’t over_ , his eyes say, even if he’s willing to let it drop by now, all in favor of granting Grimmjow a rematch.

 

* * *

 

“So how’s life together going,” Karin asks as soon as Ichigo and Grimmjow walk into the house, tired and dirty and only semi-awake. Taking in their appearance, her eyes widen. “What happened to you two?”

 

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Ichigo waves his hand in dismissal, a large grin on his face.

 

“ _Don’t worry about it_? Look at you two!” she points at them, frowning at Grimmjow’s disinterested expression. Ichigo winces. “All dirty and – is that blood? Big brother, what were you doing?”

 

“Just some sparring,” he smiles slightly, knows well that she’ll get Yuzu and they’ll scream on his ear about not being careful and pushing himself too hard and other safety stuff, but really, he knows what he’s doing, knows his limits and trusts Grimmjow not to hurt him to a point he can’t come back from. “We’re both okay, really.”

 

He feels extremely giddy after fighting against the Arrancar, the remains of adrenaline still coursing through him and he’s not sure when the last time he’s felt like this was. Karin frowns at them, still not convinced of her brother’s reassurance, but remains quiet as they walk upstairs.

 

When they reach the top, she screams, “At least clean yourselves up!”

 

* * *

 

His human body wasn’t anywhere near their fight, but Ichigo still feels like he has to get rid of the dirt. The cuts got transferred, but those he cleaned up nicely.

 

Fresh out of the shower and using the towel to dry off his hair, Ichigo sits down on his bed, his body turned to Grimmjow’s direction – the Arrancar has claimed the only chair in the room as soon as they walked in and Ichigo has made no objections about it.

 

It’s silent between the two, but not completely uncomfortable. Ichigo tosses the towel carelessly on the bed and leans forward, elbows resting on his thighs and hands clasped together.

 

“So,” he starts, thumbs playing with one another as he gathers his thoughts, “are we going to talk about what happened earlier or not?”

 

“Dunno what you’re talking about, Kurosaki,” Grimmjow shoots back, crossing his arms before his chest and then sneers at Ichigo.

 

“Come on, we’ve _gotta_ talk about this,” Ichigo rolls his eyes, unimpressed by Grimmjow’s reaction. “At the very least we should do this so that we can talk to Urahara about this later.”

 

“Fine, whatever,” Grimmjow throws his arms up, exasperated. “You want to talk? Let’s fucking talk already.”

 

“Calm down, okay?” Ichigo frowns, squeezing his hands together. Once Grimmjow crosses his arms again, he continues. “Okay, so you told me you didn’t say anything, but I _know_ I heard you say something about me only winning by sheer luck.”

 

Grimmjow shrugs. “I mean, I thought about it, but _I_ know I didn’t say a single shit about that out loud.”

 

“Then what? I just _happened_ to guess what you were thinking?”

 

“How am I supposed to know about that, huh?” Grimmjow picks on his nails, ignoring the look Ichigo’s giving him.

 

“I don’t know, Grimmjow, you tell me how I managed to hear something you didn’t say!” Ichigo almost shouts, getting up from his bed and messing up his hair in frustration.

 

“If I had the fucking answer I would have told you, Kurosaki!” Grimmjow gets up too, pushing the chair back and flinching slightly when it falls.

 

Ichigo raises one hand, silencing the Arrancar. He rubs the bridge of his nose with the other as he breathes deeply, trying to calm himself down.

 

“Look, this clearly isn’t going anywhere,” he tries to sound amicable, wanting to calm the mood. “I think we should go to sleep and just – we’ll talk to Urahara, I’m sure he will know what to do about this.”

 

Grimmjow nods and picks up his mattress from the wall, ready to drop it down. Ichigo gets his towel back to the bathroom and walks back, already dreaming about the comfort of his bed.

 

* * *

 

(The images aren’t clear, a whirlwind of moments passing in a single second, too fast to catch them, but the clashing emotions are loud and clear – panic, giddiness, hopelessness, exhilaration; desperation to keep living when death is all around.

 

He’s on the floor, paralyzed not by fear but by poison and – _His sword slices through the wrong person, against his_ – He looks at the Quincy standing in front of him, snarls – _A figure sits next to him, uncharacteristically hesitant, which_ –)

 

* * *

 

Sweat covers both of them; Ichigo recovers quicker, instinctively looks for Grimmjow only to find him shaking lightly; trembling hands while holding his own shoulders, knuckles turned white and unfocused eyes moving rapidly side to side.

 

“Grimmjow?” he calls, uncertain on what to do – should he stay away and just talk to him or would it be better it he tried to shake Grimmjow? “Hey, can you hear me?”

 

He doesn’t respond, doesn’t even seem to hear Ichigo’s words and that worries the teen. Slowly, trying not to startle the Arrancar, Ichigo moves his hand towards Grimmjow’s shoulder and hesitantly shakes him, their hands bumping into each other.

 

Grimmjow snaps out of whatever sort of trance he was on and stares at Ichigo, frown deepening on his face and confused eyes staring back at the teen. He’s sweating too, though it doesn’t seem like he has noticed it yet. He retreats both hands from his shoulders hastily as Ichigo leans closer, sits down next to him.

 

Ichigo looks at him and Grimmjow just knows they need to have a serious talk about what just happened.

 

“You dreamt about it too, didn’t you,” Ichigo plainly states it, doesn’t bother to ask. “You saw my memories from the war mixed with yours and I did too.”

 

Grimmjow grunts, sitting up slowly to see Ichigo properly.

 

“What the fuck was that?”

 

“I’m sure it has to do with the same thing that is making us feel pain when we’re apart,” Ichigo muses, one hand under his chin. “We should head over to Urahara’s after breakfast, let him know about this.”

 

* * *

 

“Hmm… if you two are hearing and seeing each other’s thoughts and memories,” Urahara starts, fanning himself even though it’s not a particularly hot day, “then this is definitely more serious than I thought.”

 

“Yeah, no shit,” Grimmjow mutters, sitting cross-legged across the man.

 

“I’ll call Kuchiki-san and tell her about this new development,” he says, ignoring Grimmjow’s eye roll and Ichigo’s nervous lip bite. “Maybe she will know something about it. Yoruichi too, actually.”

 

“And if they don’t?” Grimmjow asks, sounding slightly petulant.

 

“Then we keep searching until we find something helpful,” Urahara smiles, stops fanning himself and turns it to the Arrancar. “You don’t need to worry about it, Grimmjow.”

 

“Since when are we such buddies that you can call –”

 

“Grimmjow,” Ichigo says softly and the Arrancar stops in the middle of his sentence, snaps his mouth shut and crosses his arms, not looking at either of them.

 

Urahara raises an eyebrow, smiling behind his fan, “Oh? I had no idea you would calm down so easily. Last I remembered you were still a very hot-headed Hollow.”

 

All Grimmjow does is growl, doing his best not to rise to the bait. Ichigo rubs his fingers on his forehead; the whole exchange is starting to give him a migraine.

 

“Hat and clogs, I think it would be better for all of us if you stopped your… teasing, I guess.”

 

“Ah, my apologies,” he doesn’t sound sorry at all, though Ichigo wasn’t counting on that anyway. “Well, continuing our lovely talk about your problem, I think I’ll look for Yoruichi, ask her opinion on this. Feel free to use the basement for training if you’d like, boys, or ask Tessai for anything else you need. See you two in a bit.”

 

He closes the fan and gets up, leaving them with only a cheerful wave.

 

“Is he a fucking moron?” Grimmjow bites once Urahara is out of earshot. “He’s not taking this seriously at all.”

 

“I know it seems like he doesn’t care,” Ichigo sighs, “but I bet he’s working just as hard as Rukia and Yoruichi to figure out what is happening to us.”

 

“Hm,” he frowns, not entirely convinced of Ichigo’s words, but also not willing to waste his energy on a futile discussion. Looking up at the teen he grins, wide like an excited child. “Wanna spar?”

 

Ichigo laughs.

 

* * *

 

(It’s not a full-on serious fight by any means, both not feeling it in their hearts and minds. Every attack that manages to hit on the other is not as satisfying as usual, a small pang of sympathy for the other’s pain flares in its place.

 

Landing a blow is a bit of a problem too, since at some point they managed to figure out each other’s movements and how to avoid them – like they’re so in tune with one another they just need to make the tiniest of moves for the opponent be able to know what his counterattack can be.

 

The fight is over soon, both immediately agreeing that there’s something off with them that needs to be fixed, otherwise all their fights would end with the disappointed taste this one left.

 

When Urahara calls them up, they figure it’s a blessing in disguise.)

 

* * *

 

“I know what this is,” Yoruichi announces, face hardened as she speaks to them. “You won’t like it, obviously, but at least it will be easier for us to deal with it now.”

 

She hesitates, eyes shifting from Ichigo to Grimmjow and back again to the teen.

 

“So?” Grimmjow urges, one foot tapping rapidly.

 

“Well, what happened was that you two formed a soul bond,” she explains, ignoring the confused looks from both and Urahara’s curious expression. “It’s been known to happen a moderate amount of times in the past, not so common these days though.”

 

“How do we fix it?” Ichigo leans in, feeling hopeful and not hiding it.

 

“That’s more difficult, actually,” it pains her to look at Ichigo’s face crumble as she says it. “I still don’t have a solution to this problem, but we’ll look into it and I’m sure it will be easier now that we know what happened.”

 

“All I’m hearing is that you called us here for nothing,” Grimmjow huffs.

 

“Well, I was going to tell you what are the other effects you two might experience, but I guess it’s useless for you,” Yoruichi smirks when Grimmjow splutters and tries to get his composure back.

 

“Please tell us,” Ichigo pleads, eyes soft and easily convincing the woman. “I’d rather be prepared to handle whatever is going to happen to us.”

 

“Alright, kid, I’ll tell it just because the look you’re giving me is hard to deny,” she says. “Well, it seems you two are developing your bond faster than expected – the thought sharing part wasn’t supposed to happen at least for a few weeks, if I remember these rituals correctly.”

 

“The fuck do you mean by _ritual_?” Grimmjow asks, fingers turning into fists as he stares at Yoruichi, waiting for an answer.

 

“Have you ever heard about this thing called _patience_?” Yoruichi reprimands, though she doesn’t sound too annoyed about his interruption. “Anyway, this ritual was somewhat common a few centuries ago, usually used in two kinds of occasions – one was to form the bond of marriage and the other was to strengthen people so they could fight better in wars.”

 

“How is _this_ ,” Ichigo motions between him and Grimmjow, “supposed to help in battle?”

 

“Well, once you can read each other’s minds and predict the other’s movements it gets easier to fight enemies,” she answers, smiling. “This has already happened to you two, right?”

 

Hesitantly, they both nod.

 

“We were just sparring and it felt exactly how you described it,” Ichigo says, moving his hands aimlessly. “It was like I could read Grimmjow’s moves and I just _knew_ what he was about to do, so it was easier to plan something to get back at him.”

 

“Same thing happened to me,” Grimmjow eyes him as if he’s searching for whatever it is that links their minds together. Finding nothing, he continues, muttering. “Fucking bullshit ‘power’ is what this is.”

 

“Well, the good news is that this process can be reverted,” Yoruichi smiles brightly at them. “The bad news is that we still need to know what it that triggered the bond was and how it works.”

 

“And if we don’t find it?” Grimmjow asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

 

“Then you two will keep the way you are,” she says, “but at least the physical part will go away after a while so you two will be able to stand to be apart from each other.”

 

“But Kurosaki will still be able to hear my thoughts and vice-versa?”

 

“Yes, that’s the gist of it.”

 

“Fuck that,” he spits. “You better fucking find a way to fix this shit.”

 

“Or what, kid?” Yoruichi’s eyes show something like disdain. At Grimmjow’s hesitance, she shakes her head. “Thought so.”

 

* * *

 

“Well…” Ichigo scratches the back of his head as he walks, speaking softly to not draw attention to himself. “At least we know what it is now, so that’s good.”

 

Grimmjow snorts. “We got out of there the same way we walked in, so I don’t see a reason to be happy about anything.”

 

“Hey, at least they’re trying,” Ichigo raises his voice a bit and a little girl looks up at him, puzzled. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he tries to make the best of their situation. _We haven’t even been helping them with research and other stuff, all we do is come up with more problems_.

 

“Don’t – don’t do that!” Grimmjow trembles, goosebumps all over his body, and stops walking. “Just talk, I don’t want your voice in my head like that, it’s creepy.”

 

Ichigo sighs.

 

 _It’s weird if I start talking to myself in the middle of the street_ , he whines and shoots Grimmjow sad eyes.

 

Grimmjow groans and messes up his own hair in small frustration. _Fine, but I’m gonna do it too, see how you like it when someone else’s voice is in your mind_.

 

The teen chuckles and covers it up with a hand as the other catches up to him.

 

 _So what do we do now?_ Grimmjow asks, not bothering to get out of the way of other people as he walks side by side with Ichigo.

 

 _I’m not sure, but…_ he muses, _is there even something we can do about this? I mean it’s not like we would know what to look for on this._

_Fuck_ , Grimmjow bites his bottom lip. _What the fuck are we even supposed to do if they can’t find a way to clean up this mess?_

_Then we handle this in the best we can_ , Ichigo sighs and takes a turn to the left, not really thinking about where he is going. _At least after a while we won’t need to be on each other’s personal space, so that’s a plus. You could go back to Hueco Mundo after that, right? So there’s that to look for._

_Yeah, I guess you’re right_ , Grimmjow concedes.

 

* * *

 

They find Nel waiting for them at the Kurosaki’s residence, sitting on the couch and chatting away with Karin. She hops over towards Ichigo and hugs him, her arms extremely tight around him. He laughs, pats her on the back twice before hugging her as well. Grimmjow rolls his eyes and Nel shows him her tongue, laughing.

 

“It’s been so long!” she exclaims, leaping from Ichigo to Grimmjow, tugging him closer and hugging just as tight. “How have you two been?”

 

“It hasn’t even been a week, Nelliel,” Grimmjow huffs, tries to push her off of him and fails miserably. “Don’t make it sound like we haven’t seen each other since last year or something.”

 

“I’m aware of that,” she pouts, disentangles herself and puts both hands on her hips. “But I still missed you two, okay? It’s not a crime, you know.”

 

Grimmjow rolls his eyes and moves past her. He walks to the couch and sits with some distance from Karin, who kicks him lightly at the hip as a way of greeting him. He grunts and nods in acknowledgement.

 

“So how have things been?” Nel asks, turning to Ichigo with a bright smile.

 

“They’re getting better now,” he answers. “At least we know what we’re dealing with so that’s something. Yoruichi said she was going to look up on how to break this soul bond thing we have.”

 

“Oh, that’s amazing!” she follows him to the kitchen, practically skipping around him. Her face turns mischievous and she says, teasingly, “So you’re looking forward to Grimmjow being out of your hair real soon, aren’t you?”

 

Ichigo hears the teasing tone in her voice, yet he frowns all the same, thinking about the Arrancar currently talking to his sister somewhat amicably.

 

“Grimmjow’s not so bad once you spend some time with him,” he says, shrugging. With a soft voice and softer smile, he continues, “He’s pretty fun to hang out with, actually.”

 

Nel smiles, looks satisfied with his answer. She bumps their shoulders together, getting on the tip of her toes to even reach Ichigo.

 

“So what’s for lunch?”

 

* * *

 

She leaves right after they eat, stopping only to mess up Grimmjow’s hair and hug him and Ichigo once more. Grimmjow curses as her Garganta closes, but he’s smiling slightly.

 

“So, Kurosaki,” he turns his body towards Ichigo, arms crossed, “do you have any ideas on what to do while we wait for your shinigami friends to find a solution for this?”

 

“I mean, we could spar again,” he starts, chuckles at the face Grimmjow pulls, “but I guess right now it would be kind of boring.”

 

“Damn right it would be fucking boring, plus I don’t want you cheating just because you can hear my thoughts or whatever,” Grimmjow says, all bark and no bite in his tone. He hesitates for a second before continuing. “So what do you humans do around here to pass time?”

 

* * *

 

(Ichigo brings several DVDs he owns and they sit on the living room’s couch. Grimmjow crosses his legs while Ichigo chooses the first movie, strangely giddy to be the one to introduce new things to the Arrancar.

 

Karin and Yuzu join them a few minutes after the movie has started, both carrying a bowl of popcorn with them. Yuzu chuckles when Grimmjow makes a face and asks her about it before grabbing a handful. He doesn’t shove it all into his mouth, rather picking one at a time, munching on it longer than probably needed just to get acquainted with the taste.

 

The movie is an animation, something light to start what Ichigo hopes will be a marathon, eager to show as many movie genres to Grimmjow as he can.

 

Next up is a musical, and while one would think Grimmjow looks like he’s not enjoying it, Ichigo knows better. Their link reassures him that the Arrancar loves it actually; sometimes he can even catch Grimmjow singing along in his head. Ichigo smiles whenever that happens, happiness flowing from him and getting to Grimmjow without the teen even noticing.

 

When they get to a drama, Ichigo looks to his left to watch the image that is Grimmjow awkwardly trying to comfort Yuzu when the hero sacrifices himself to save the girl. Ichigo smiles, unaffected by Grimmjow’s glare – it’s a moot point by now, trying to scare Ichigo off with his looks, especially when he’s being so nice to one of his sisters.

 

Ichigo laughs when he remembers Yuzu can only partially see Grimmjow by now, realizing that it must be more weird than comforting having a Hollow try to make her feel better.)

 

* * *

 

Isshin arrives in the middle of the fourth movie; his work clothes look rumpled and there’s a tired expression on his face. It changes to something softer as soon as he notices the four people cuddled up together on the couch, watching intently as the reindeer competes in the race.

 

He smiles, his doubts about the Arrancar finally diminished – there’s no way Yuzu and Karin would feel so comfortable around someone with murderous intent towards them or their brother, so clearly Grimmjow isn’t interested in that and Isshin can feel somewhat comfortable with the Hollow’s presence.

 

“My beautiful children, papa is home!” he belts out, twirling around to the couch’s direction, but not a single one of them turns to greet him. He pouts, placing a hand over his heart. “No one will come and say hi to your dear dad? I am hurt!”

 

“Hey, dad,” Karin says, toneless as she shifts on her seat, trying to catch a glimpse of the TV while Isshin stands in front of it. “Can you _please_ move now?”

 

Isshin sighs, knowing when he’s defeated by his children, and sits on the only available spot in the living room, elbow sinking on the armrest and hand supporting his head as he resigns himself to join them on watching the movie.

 

Well, if he can’t beat them…

 

“Who’s up for takeout tonight?”

 

* * *

 

“So how’d you like it?” Ichigo asks, finishing dressing up to sleep and sitting on his bed.

 

“Not bad,” he answers, already lying down, arms behind his head as he stares at the ceiling.

 

“I’m guessing your favorite was the musical one?” Ichigo teases, throwing the covers over himself.

 

“ _No_ ,” he lies and knows that Ichigo is aware of that, blushes slightly and ends up crossing his arms in front of his chest.

 

“It’s okay,” Ichigo reassures, shifting so he can look at Grimmjow. “That’s my favorite too.”

 

“If you say so,” Grimmjow huffs, but smiles right after.

 

Ichigo smiles back, turning off the lights.

 

* * *

 

(Another memory is shared, this time Grimmjow’s only. They can’t seem to be able to control who sees what and when, so Grimmjow can’t stop Ichigo from watching it, frozen in his spot just like his past self was in the memory.

 

In the dreamlike memory he’s back at the Soul Palace, lying on the ground not by choice but because his enemy paralyzed him into submission.

 

He’s powerless, can’t lift a fucking finger and he hates it, hates it even more because he knows Kurosaki is seeing this as well, hates to find out what the teen is thinking of him during this moment.

 

And because this is more of a dream than a memory now, his enemy doesn’t run off like he did in reality, rather crouches near a frozen Grimmjow with a smirk on his face. He opens his mouths but no sounds come off, even if his lips are moving, most likely taunting him and Grimmjow’s glad he can’t hear whatever it is, nor can Ichigo – he hopes, at least, that the teen is also just looking at the moving lips without any sound.

 

The enemy touches Grimmjow’s shoulder and shoves him, and the man’s laughter is muted – a small blessing, Grimmjow thinks. He gets up and circles Grimmjow, saying words that must be taunting, is what the Arrancar can guess.

 

Grimmjow doesn’t want to wake up, doesn’t want to see Ichigo’s eyes fill up with that one emotion he very much despises. But he also doesn’t want to stay here, stuck in a memory-dream of one of his weakest moments, doesn’t want to relive that.

 

Be it for better or for worse, Ichigo takes the decision from him.)

 

* * *

 

“Grimmjow,” Ichigo’s voice comes in a whisper, but it’s all that takes for Grimmjow to snap out of his dream – nightmare, more like it. “Grimmjow, wake up.”

 

“Nngh,” he groans, his movements sluggish as he tries to sit up. “ _Fuck_.”

 

“You were thrashing around and I –” Ichigo stops, hesitant on the next thing to say. “We don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

 

“Do I fucking look okay?” Grimmjow barks, but his voice is free of venom. “And no, I don’t wanna fucking talk about it. Goddamn waste of time is what that would be.”

 

“Okay,” Ichigo nods and gets up. “Okay, I’ll make you some tea then. You sure look like you need it.”

 

“Whatever,” he mutters, trying to suppress the wave of gratitude that washes over him thanks to Ichigo’s small gesture.

 

Ichigo steps over him, opens the door and walks out towards the kitchen. Grimmjow doesn’t follow him, too focused on making his hands stop trembling and willing the cold sweat away.

 

There’s a small pain they both feel from the distance, but Grimmjow refuses to get up.

 

He takes the time Ichigo is in the kitchen to try and calm down, remind himself that it was just a nightmare, it happened quite some time ago and he shouldn’t worry about it now, not when he’s stronger than before and could easily take down that Quincy with the freaky power.

 

His mind is reeling – Ichigo’s seen it, he _knows_ , and Grimmjow has no idea how he will react to that. In the back of his mind there’s the reassurance that the teen would never mock him for his fear, his weakness, but what he’s dreading more isn’t that.

 

It’s pity.

 

If Kurosaki pities him for that Grimmjow doesn’t know what he’d do. He can’t even fight the teen, not when they can read each other like an open book right now. Can’t walk away because it will hurt more than it’s worth. Can’t even stay quiet because his own mind will talk for him, the traitorous thing.

 

“Don’t freak out so much,” Ichigo presses the cup on Grimmjow’s cheek to get his attention. “You’ll get yourself an aneurism or something if you keep that up.”

 

“Well, I can’t really help it when there’s someone else in my mind, reading my thoughts,” he bites, taking the cup of tea with care from Ichigo’s hands.

 

“Believe me, if I there was a way I could stop seeing into your mind, I would take it,” Ichigo holds his gaze, intent on making sure Grimmjow understands that what his saying is the pure truth. “Everyone is entitled to their privacy, and I don’t like that I know things about you that you didn’t mean to share.”

 

“The situation we’re in fucking sucks,” Grimmjow says and takes a sip. “I get it, you don’t do it on purpose, but it rubs me the wrong way that you know what you know about me already.”

 

“I can pretend I don’t know anything about what just happened,” he offers with a small smile.

 

Grimmjow shakes his head, “Nah, too late for that.”

 

“Okay,” Ichigo nods. “Okay, but just so you and I are clear… I don’t pity you, Grimmjow. I don’t think I could ever do that.”

 

The Arrancar grunts and takes another sip from the cup, doesn’t bother looking up to meet Ichigo’s soft eyes. He wants to pretend there’s no relief at the teen’s words, but he can’t lie even to himself right now.

 

“Thought you said you were going to pretend this didn’t happen,” he mumbles.

 

“Yeah, I know,” Ichigo nods absentmindedly. “But I also would hate if you thought I did, so I just wanted to make sure you knew.”

 

“Alright, great,” Grimmjow finishes his tea, holds the cup with both hands. “Now we can stop talking about this, yeah?”

 

“Sure, Grimmjow.”

 

* * *

 

“I just talked to Urahara over the phone,” Ichigo starts. “He says they think they’re close to finding out what triggered the soul bond thing.”

 

Grimmjow grunts in acknowledgement, his eyes never leaving the TV, too occupied watching a guy get screamed at. Cooking competition shows became a new interest to the Arrancar, much to his and Ichigo’s surprise.

 

Ichigo joins him on the couch, their knees brushing together for a moment, and crosses his arms, not as interested on the show as Grimmjow is but still watching it for lack of something better to do. It’s been a week since Yoruichi told them their symptoms were caused by a bonding, and so far neither she nor Urahara or Rukia discovered more than that.

 

Which left Ichigo and Grimmjow with… nothing, really. They couldn’t fight, so they had to think of other things to do – mostly involving the TV and some movies, but doing marathons every day gets tiring at some point, so now they moved on to competition shows.

 

“So we’re stuck doing nothing, _again_ ,” Grimmjow grumbles, sliding slowly down on the couch, slouched.

 

“Pretty much that, yes,” Ichigo sighs, rests his head on the back of the couch and stares blankly at the ceiling. “But you seem to be doing well with the cooking show from… United States? English sounds all the same to me.”

 

Grimmjow shrugs, “Fuck if I know. I just like to see the guy scream at the others. His fucking face gets red every time, it’s great.”

 

* * *

 

(The longer they stay without a solution, the stronger the bond gets.

 

They still can’t stay away from each other, but the distance is bigger now, to the point where Ichigo can brush his teeth in the bathroom while Grimmjow stays downstairs with Karin and Yuzu. It’s a false sense of privacy, because it still hurts if they stay too long far from one another, but they’ll take what they can get.

 

It’s the mind reading that Grimmjow still has problems with – so does Ichigo, actually. By now there are times they can’t even tell where one’s thoughts end and the other’s begin, so in tune with each other that they are. Sometimes it can be good, when they’re fighting against Hollows during patrols, but most of the time is just annoying and invasive for both parts. Pretending they didn’t hear the other’s thoughts – of fear, of happiness, of sadness, of amusement – is the polite thing to do, but it doesn’t make it less awkward.

 

Yoruichi says they’re closer and closer each day, Rukia reassures them and Urahara encourages them not to lose faith, and all they can do by now is hope and deal with their situation the best they can.)

 

* * *

 

Ichigo sits up on his bed abruptly, sweat covering his face, his chest, the entirety of his body. Grimmjow grumbles and sits too, rubbing one eye as the other fixates on the teen, questioning.

 

He’s seen the dream – the feeling of _mother_ and _guilt_ in Ichigo’s mind was too strong for Grimmjow mistake what it was about. He doesn’t understand why Ichigo would feel guilty about what happened – if what he saw wasn’t distorted by Ichigo’s own feelings about the situation – because Grimmjow’s sure what happened wasn’t the teen’s fault.

 

For some reason, Grimmjow feels like telling him so, but doesn’t know how to say it.

 

So he doesn’t.

 

 _Fuck, Kurosaki, stop blaming yourself for that_ , it’s better like this, better than speak the words he’s not sure he’ll say in the right tone, with the right intent. _It wasn’t your fault, alright. It’s the fucking Hollow who did it that you have to blame._

 

Ichigo snaps his head up, startled by Grimmjow’s voice in his head. There’s a small sniff coming from him that they both refrain from acknowledging.

 

 _No, it was me,_ he can’t speak either, afraid his voice will break once the words come from his mouth. _If I hadn’t done it, she’d be –_

_Bullshit_ , Grimmjow cuts him off, frustration seeping through him to Ichigo on purpose. _You did nothing wrong, plus you were a kid – can’t blame you for wanting to help someone._

They stay quiet for a long time, the ticking of the clock the only sound in the bedroom. Grimmjow doesn’t know what else to say, doesn’t know how to make Ichigo stop blaming himself.

 

 _I, um,_ Ichigo breaks the silence, his voice in Grimmjow’s head so quiet the Arrancar has to make an effort to hear it. _I fought him – the Hollow that killed her, I mean. Bastard had the guts to show up the same day my family and I went to pay our respects to mom._

_Hope you kicked the bastard’s ass,_ Grimmjow grins, cocking his head to the side.

 

 _I… did my best, I guess,_ he gives a lopsided smile, and Grimmjow isn’t sure he can count that as a win, not when it doesn’t even last for long and is immediately replaced by a frown. _The fucker could transform and shifted to look like my mom and I – I just…_

_Yeah,_ Grimmjow nods, somber, angry that the Hollow managed to escape when he deserved to die for killing Ichigo’s mom and making the teen feel responsible for that.

 

 _Thanks_ , Ichigo mutters, small smile on his face.

 

_What._

_For, you know, trying to make me feel better about this,_ he shrugs, tries to seem casual about something important and fails.

 

Grimmjow grunts.

 

_Just stop thinking you’re the one to blame for this when it isn’t your fault._

 

* * *

 

Yoruichi finally finds out a way to break the bond.

 

“These bracelets right here,” she jingles the objects in front of them, “are the reason you two had to deal with this for so long.”

 

“Hey, those look like –” he inspects the jewelry, head then snapping to stare at Urahara, who’s more than happy to stand at the corner of the room, hiding behind his fan. “They’re the same ones you made us wear that time!”

 

“Yeah, Urahara here forgot where he put those,” Yoruichi grins at the shop owner, loving to watch as he squirms, uncomfortable with the stares he’s receiving from Ichigo and Grimmjow. “Anyway, they’re from one of the Soul Society’s noble families – don’t know how you managed to get your hands on one of those, Urahara – and it’s actually pretty simple to revert the process. Here, give me your hands.”

 

They do as they’re told and Yoruichi puts the bracelets on their wrists, taking a step back when they begin to faintly glow. She recites a few words and the light fluctuates, sometimes too bright and others not so much. When she’s done, she orders them to take the bracelets off and they feel the same jolt from the other time, this time less strong.

 

“And that’s it,” she says, her smile big and proud. “You two should be good to go now, you’re welcome.”

 

“Thanks, Yoruichi,” Ichigo smiles and hands her the bracelet back.

 

“Yeah,” Grimmjow says, rubbing at his bare wrist with a frown on his face.

 

“Well, you two should try something out before you thank me, really,” she says.

 

Ichigo turns to Grimmjow, face serious and focused.

 

 _Can you hear me still_ , he asks and at Grimmjow’s blank stare Ichigo confirms that they’re not connected anymore.

 

There’s a hollow feeling in his gut now, and he wonders if it’s related to the soul bond. He can’t hear Grimmjow’s thoughts anymore, nor can feel what he feels and it’s weird after those things being there for so long they ended up turning into second nature to him, something so instinctive to him it was practically natural to have.

 

But now it’s gone, and Ichigo knows he should be happy, he should be glad, but he isn’t. So he frowns and says nothing, doesn’t want to share this with anyone else but Grimmjow, but he can’t now, the link is broken. At the back of his mind he wonders – hopes, more like it – if Grimmjow is feeling the same as he is, but he can’t be sure, can’t know if it would be projection or fact if he looked at the Arrancar and tried to get a read on him.

 

“Well, that’s it then,” he says, forcing himself to smile. “I tried to talk to Grimmjow, but it seems like he didn’t hear me. The bond is completely broken now.”

 

“You tried?” Grimmjow asks, something in his gut twisting when Ichigo nods. “Then I can go back to Hueco Mundo now, right?”

 

He turns to Yoruichi, doesn’t want to look at Ichigo because it makes him feel bad – he doesn’t know what the teen is thinking, doesn’t know what he’s feeling now and it’s nothing but _weird_. Feels almost unnatural after all this time.

 

“Well, goodbye then,” he waves half-heartedly and opens up a Garganta in the middle of the room, stepping inside. “I’ll come back so we can spar again, Kurosaki.”

 

“You better,” Ichigo smiles bright, is happy with the prospect of fighting Grimmjow again – and soon, probably.

 

* * *

 

(Grimmjow goes back to Hueco Mundo.

 

Ichigo walks back home.

 

The distance is worse now that they can’t feel the pain.)

 

* * *

 

It takes a month for Ichigo to see Grimmjow again.

 

The Arrancar is sitting on his bed when he arrives, looking like he belongs – _and he does, doesn’t he_ , is all Ichigo can think –, picking on his nails in boredom. Ichigo drops his bag by his feet and coughs to get Grimmjow’s attention.

 

“Hey,” he says, awkward and not sure why the other decided to visit so suddenly.

 

“Hey,” Grimmjow says back, a crooked smile appearing on his face and Ichigo can’t help but think how fitting it is, how good it looks on him. “Wanna fight?”

 

“Sure,” Ichigo grins, already going through his pocket to grab the badge and get into his shinigami substitute form, ready for a spar.

 

He leaves his body on the bed with a note on the side, explaining where he is in case one of his sisters comes looking for him. They find a good place and immediately start going at each other, not afraid of giving too much or too little in their fight, not afraid that they’ll be hurt so bad they can’t get back from it.

 

They were in tune with each other for so long it was hard not to know the other’s limits.

 

It’s a draw, in the end, and they sit next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, breathing heavily from the exertion.

 

“I missed this,” Ichigo blurts out and shuts his mouth; he’s blushing a little.

 

Grimmjow laughs, head thrown back and all open and light.

 

“Yeah, me too,” he bumps their shoulders together, more playful than Ichigo has ever seen him.

 

They stay in silence, enjoying the sight.

 

* * *

 

“What did you do this last month?” Ichigo asks, getting back into his body. It’s still a weird thing to look at, but Grimmjow can’t turn his gaze away, mystified by the process.

 

“Not much,” he rolls his shoulders, sighing when he hears a popping sound. “Hueco Mundo is boring as fuck when you’re not fighting, and the Hollows in there know me too well to be stupid to fight me now. Which fucking sucks, actually.”

 

“So you’re like their king now or something?” Ichigo lifts one eyebrow, amusement clear in his voice.

 

“Nah,” Grimmjow sits next to him in the bed. “Harribel is the one ruling that place. After a while I just knew it was better her than me in the throne. Fits her better anyway.”

 

Ichigo hums. He doesn’t know who she is, but if Grimmjow’s saying that then it must be true. There’s no jealousy in his words, only calmness, and a bit of amusement too.

 

Their shoulders touch.

 

“What about you?” Grimmjow asks and looks at the ceiling. “Fighting any Hollows lately?”

 

Ichigo huffs, “That and killing myself with all the studying I’ve been doing. I want to get into college and all. Haven’t been doing much more than that.”

 

“Sounds tough,” Grimmjow says.

 

“It is.”

 

Grimmjow remembers Nel’s words, telling him to be nice to his friends – and he likes to think that’s what he and Kurosaki are – so he tries.

 

“I’m… sure you can handle it,” he pats Ichigo awkwardly on the shoulder, trying to come up with something else to say, not ready to leave yet.

 

“Yeah, I hope so,” Ichigo grins, bright. His face turns serious not even a second after, frowning and hesitant of his next words. “This will probably sound weird, but… I kinda miss when we were bonded?”

 

“I think I get what you mean,” Grimmjow scratches the back of his head. “Feels weird now after we were in each other’s head all the time. Empty.”

 

“That’s pretty much it, yeah,” Ichigo sighs in relief, glad that he’s not the only one feeling like something is wrong, missing. “It’s not like I want us to be stuck with each other by force again, but after a while I didn’t mind the other stuff as much.”

 

“It was easier to hunt Hollows that way, I guess,” Grimmjow looks at Ichigo by the corner of his eye, blushing lightly. “Think we can still do that?”

 

“Without the mind thing?” Ichigo asks, waits for the other to nod. “Yeah, we could try at least.”

 

Grimmjow grins.

 

* * *

 

(“Isn’t it weird that you have so much fun killing your own?”

 

“Nah, it’s in our nature,” Grimmjow shrugs. “They would’ve done the same thing to me if I wasn’t the stronger one.”

 

“Okay then,” Ichigo smiles, amused rather than disgusted, and Grimmjow hums in appreciation for the teen’s understanding.

 

They still got it, the connection – only now they don’t need a bond to make it work.)

 

* * *

 

It takes another week for Grimmjow to show up again, this time all battered up and bleeding over Ichigo’s bedsheets.

 

“Grimmjow!” Ichigo runs to the Arrancar, dropping his bag carelessly in the process of kneeling down next to him. “What happened to you?”

 

“Some fucker caught me when I was distracted, is all,” Grimmjow sounds so cavalier about the situation but Ichigo knows better, knows by now that the Arrancar hates losing, hates being the weaker one, hates feeling so vulnerable. “It’s all good if I can stay for a while, right?”

 

Grimmjow’s voice sounds small, unsure, and it pains Ichigo to hear it that way.

 

“Of course you can,” Ichigo gets up, slowly. “I’m gonna get the med kit, clean you up a bit, if it’s alright.”

 

“Yeah, whatever,” it’s as close as a _yes_ and _thank you_ Ichigo will get from Grimmjow, so he takes it, gladly.

 

He comes back with the kit and gently pushes Grimmjow a bit to the left so he can sit on the bed. Starting with the nasty looking wounds, Ichigo takes the utmost care not to hurt Grimmjow even further, cleaning up the cuts with butterfly-like touches.

 

With the blood gone, it looks less terrible than before, but it still worries Ichigo. It’s been a while since he’s seen Grimmjow this torn up, so he wonders who bruised him up that badly – another Hollow, most likely, strong enough to go up against him.

 

“Fuck,” Grimmjow mumbles, one arm thrown over his eyes. “Gonna beat the shit out of that asshole if I ever see them again.”

 

“I pity whoever did this to you, then,” Ichigo half-jokes, covering up a small cut.

 

“Hah,” he sounds unamused, but smiles anyway, even if he’s still in pain.

 

They stay quiet, with Ichigo cleaning and bandaging up the bruises and Grimmjow breathing steadily, trying to power through the discomfort. It’s a comfortable silence, knowing the other enough to not feel like forcing a conversation just to kill the quietness. There’s a sense of trust, too, between them, one that Grimmjow never thought he’d have with anyone, and he’s still not sure what to make of that.

 

“Done,” Ichigo announces after a few minutes, smiling.

 

“I can clean your sheets later or something,” Grimmjow says, his own way of apologizing without saying the words _I’m sorry_. It’s a good thing Ichigo’s already familiar with the way he works, any other person might’ve been annoyed.

 

“It’s a deal.”

 

* * *

 

“Kurosaki-kun!” Orihime greets him at her door, smiling as bright as ever. “It’s so good to see you! It’s been a while.”

 

“Yeah, I haven’t visited you guys for a couple weeks now, right? I’m sorry,” he scratches his head, feeling a bit guilty.

 

“Oh, you don’t have to apologize,” she waves her hand dismissively, sitting down. “How have you been?”

 

“Good,” he answers. “Helped Grimmjow with a thing the other day, other than that nothing that interesting happened – I’ve been studying too much to do anything cool.”

 

“You shouldn’t study too much, it’s not good for your health,” Orihime admonishes, her face serious. She smiles right after, her hands clasping together. “But it’s good to know you and Jaegerjaques-san are still in touch even after you broke the bond! You two must have turned into really good friends after all that happened.”

 

“Yeah,” Ichigo’s voice is soft as he thinks about the Arrancar, and he gives her a small smile. “Something like that.”

 

* * *

 

(They spend more and more time together, even though they’re free to go their separate ways now.

 

It’s almost like they still feel a pull towards each other, but this one is slightly different, not caused by any old magic family jewel.

 

They dance around each other for days, weeks, months, not knowing fully what their feelings mean.

 

Grimmjow wants; wants to touch Ichigo’s shoulders, arms, hands. Wants to lay his head on the crook of the teen’s neck, bury his nose and smell his scent, so calm and familiar. Ichigo wants too; wants to hold hands and mess up the Arrancar’s hair playfully, wants to feel how fluffy it is. Wants to make him feel safe and happy, wants –

 

Making it happen takes some time, though.)

 

* * *

 

“Would it be alright if I held your hand?”

 

“What?” Grimmjow snaps his head to face Ichigo, frown on his face out of confusion. He doesn’t look opposed to the idea, so Ichigo finds the courage to repeat his question.

 

“Your hand,” he says. “Can I hold it?”

 

“Uh, sure?”

 

Ichigo smiles, reassuring, and lifts his hand, palm up, waiting for Grimmjow to give his. When he does, Ichigo slowly interlaces their fingers together rubbing his thumb lightly at the back of Grimmjow’s hand. It’s a nice feeling, both of them think, in tune yet once again.

 

“Is there a reason you wanted to do this?” Grimmjow asks, tightening their hold.

 

“Uh,” Ichigo says. “I just wanted to? But only if you wanted too, of course. We can stop if you want.”

 

Grimmjow shakes his head, “Nah, it’s not so bad. Was just curious about why you wanted to do something like this all of a sudden.”

 

“Actually, it’s been a while,” he scratches his cheek with his free hand. “I just… needed to work up the courage, I think.”

 

That earns a snort from Grimmjow, and it leads to them laughing, loud and carefree.

 

Ichigo squeezes their hands together one, two, three times after the laughter dies down, trying to find a way to say his next words without hesitation.

 

“Actually, I – I wanted to tell you something,” he starts, not looking Grimmjow in the eyes, not seeing the curiosity in his eyes nor the blush in his cheeks. “I like you, um, and it’s quite a lot, actually.”

 

When there’s no response from the Arrancar, Ichigo panics, forces a quick laugh as a way of trying to light the mood.

 

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same or anything,” he says. “We can just – we’ll just pretend I never said anything, okay? Don’t want to make this weird between us after all and –”

 

Grimmjow shuts him up by pulling him closer by his hand and kisses his cheek, quick and Ichigo almost thinks he imagine it, the only thing proving it to be real being the tingling in the place Grimmjow’s lips touched.

 

“Uh,” Grimmjow starts, blushing harder now. “I do feel the same way, so don’t freak out on me or anything.”

 

Ichigo smiles, free hand trembling with exhilaration.

 

* * *

 

(They kiss after that, nothing deep or heated, more like lips touching for a couple seconds and noses bumping, all clumsy and giddy and light. They exchange a few more kisses after the first one, still with the same feeling and excitement.

 

It’s not easy, at first, both setting their boundaries – sex, for example, is out of the question for both of them, one because it doesn’t interests him at all and the other because he finds it disgusting – and figuring out their likes and dislikes – Grimmjow likes it when Ichigo brushes his fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp every now and then, giving him nice goosebumps; Ichigo likes it when Grimmjow gives him massages after a rough study session, strong hands getting all his kinks worked out, letting him relax.

 

They spend a good portion of their time together still doing the same things, sparring still being their favorite activity, only now kisses are exchanged afterwards and they hold hands on the way back to Ichigo’s. Grimmjow still watches his competition shows whenever he comes by, with Ichigo now lending his lap so Grimmjow can lie on it, not wasting a second to make himself comfortable.

 

Sometimes Grimmjow will disappear in Hueco Mundo, but Ichigo is never worried, knows the Arrancar needs his space and also knows he can take care of himself – and even if he couldn’t, Nel’s there to help him if anything happens, so he’s safe over there. Sometimes Ichigo will be quiet, almost sullen, and Grimmjow leaves him be while still staying around in case the teen needs him, aware that he’s not always in the mood to talk and accepting of that.

 

It’s a relationship made out of supporting and respecting each other, love being the reason it works out as well as it does.)

 

* * *

 

“Hey,” Ichigo says, brushing his hand on Grimmjow’s hair, all too fluffy to be real.

 

“What,” Grimmjow mumbles, almost asleep thanks to Ichigo’s treatment.

 

“Can you guess what I’m thinking?”

 

They both smile.

 

“Shut up.”

 

Ichigo laughs and kisses him on the cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> well i tried therefore no one should criticize me (jk i'll accept all the constructive criticism tbh)
> 
> (also @ lutece i hope u like this???)


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